


Earth 12 - The Married Couple

by Cammerel



Series: Starker - Multiverse Shenanigans [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Internalized Homophobia, It's all Tony, M/M, Multiverse, Tony being ashamed of himself all over the place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-12-24 12:48:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21099716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cammerel/pseuds/Cammerel
Summary: He takes a pitstop on Earth 12 out of sheer curiosity.





	1. Chapter 1

He wants to take Earth 23 Peter’s advice. He does.

But he doesn’t.

Tony’s always been a glutton for punishment, so he keeps going despite his better judgement. Besides, look how well the last time he took advice went. Certainly didn’t go well, did it?

Twenty-four and twenty-five are more or less the same as twenty-three, with Peter all dolled up in mouth-watering outfits, working for him under the pseud ‘Petra’. One of them actually manages to lay a few on him before realizing that he’s different.

There’s something about Peter pushing him against a wall in a grey ruffle back blazer and some of the tightest black pants he’s seen on a person. That… and the upstairs assortment - yeah, he might be horribly closeted, but he can appreciate a good rack (real or otherwise). There’s something about /all/ of it that he maybe leans into, lets himself enjoy.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t touch. He would also be lying if he said he didn’t get hard.

He deserved what he got afterwards, when his other self walked in on them, but he didn’t regret it for a second. /They/ were the ones playing at a not-relationship thing in the first place. Who could blame him for taking advantage of the situation?

Besides. Peter started it.

Once he finishes up there, he doesn’t want to risk going past the emptiness and onto another set. Twenty-five is the end of their happy cluster and he’s not sure what he’ll find in another (the next cluster being so much further out)… so he goes back; through the universes he’s been in, back to his own for a hot minute, and then on to the ones before.

He takes a pitstop on Earth 12 out of sheer curiosity.

Peter lights up in delight when he comes up to the door, waving with an assorted bouquet of flowers. Even if the advice didn’t pan out, he can’t help but be fond of this Peter for trying to warm an old, lonely man’s heart.

“This is a nice surprise,” Peter says and holds open the door, “Are those for me?”

Tony smiles, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek and curl an arm around his waist in a half hug, “For both of you, actually. But, well… yes, mostly for you.”

“It’s been a few weeks,” Peter takes the bouquet just as Tony’s Earth 12 counterpart enters the room, “Any particular reason why you’re not enjoying the honeymoon phase of your relationship with my innocent and less corrupting Earth thirteen double?”

Tony stares at himself.

“Tell me you didn’t fuck this one up, genius,” his other self says, “We set that up so nicely for you, like a present with a damn bow on the top and everything. Tell me you didn’t manage to screw the pooch so royally.”

“Actually…”

His other self groans and closes his eyes, “Are you really that stupid? Are you thick in the head? Did dad drop you as a child when mom wasn’t looking? What exactly is your malfunction that you’re so inclined to misery? What is your problem-”

“Anthony,” Peter says, finally cutting off his double’s tirade and turning to him, “What happened, Tony? I thought we were good.”

“I’m good,” Tony responds roughly, holding his arms out in a weak attempt to seem sincere, “I wanted to try, I wanted to give it a shot. You convinced me.”

“So?”

“He’s got a girlfriend.”

Peter turns to his husband, “What the hell? I thought you said you gave him pointers, some ‘good advice’, you said,” he mocks, making air quotes and everything.

“You know,” his other self says tentatively, “In hindsight, what I said to him might not have done you two any real favors.”

“What /did/ you say to him?” Peter asks lowly, looking nervous, “You couldn’t have possibly said something so-”

“I told him about commitment,” his other self sounds somewhat defensive, but there’s a sad tinge to it that lurches in his gut, “Honest. I didn’t touch the kid or anything, or try to bring him over to Team Starker or make it blatantly obvious. But I told him about how bad I felt about the half-relationships I had and how I never really tried to enjoy my personal life until I finally found that one person. I didn’t want to give him /too/ many hints. I was subtle.”

Peter huffs loudly and turns from his husband, back to Tony, reaching out and pulling him into a hug, “Oh, fuck.”

Tony hugs him back, “It’s fine, I get it,” he clears his throat, “Okay? You know, maybe this is good. Maybe I need some time to… grow as a person, or-”

“Fuck growing as a person,” his other self says, offering his drink to Tony, “You’ve done enough growing for a life time or three. Is that why you’re here? Wanted a threesome or something to forget about your bad love life? I can deliver, I don’t mind fucking myself.”

Peter snorts loudly.

Tony blinks in surprise, “Actually I… not exactly-”

“I think Tony here wants to save himself,” Peter speaks up for him, hands sliding down his chest, “For his Peter.”

“That’s no fun, and you said it yourself, kid’s got a girlfriend,” his other self says but moves on from it like it isn’t that big of a deal, “Alright, then what? We can do all kinds of other fun stuff. Handjobs? Some intercrural-”

“Anthony Edward-”

“We can get super drunk, have a party? Duke it out in a couple of suits? You can beat me up, if you want to. It’s kind of my fault you’re like this now, I guess.”

Peter stares at him and Tony can see when the younger man’s shoulders and expression settle, when he reads into what Tony didn’t know he wanted. Tony isn’t sure how he even figures it out, some kind of intuition or something.

“Alright,” he says softly, smiling, “Come on,” he leads Tony by hand, his confused husband following, “Come on.”

Tony doesn’t bother protesting as he’s led to their bedroom.

“I thought he wanted to save himself,” his other self complains, but then stops when Peter climbs onto the bed, on his knees, holding his arms out.

“Come here,” he says and there’s that dull achy sting again, painfully tweaking at his heart.

He fully expects his doppelganger to laugh at him or make a joke, but he doesn’t. Not even when Tony sinks into Peter’s arms and clutches onto him.

Not even when he starts openly sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic series (which is over 44k) and anything I write like it are already posted elsewhere first and foremost. With at least 10+ Starker fics incoming over there, I figured I'd toss something up here for the time being, but updates will be slow as I have many other Starker WIPs and not a lot of real time.
> 
> For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more (speech bubble in the bottom right).


	2. Chapter 2

“We were never close.”

He traces his fingers over the scar on his own other self’s stomach, glancing up at him to make sure it’s okay to do.

Other Tony just smiles and nods minutely.

“Not like you and yours. Even when I was doing everything to try and make him proud, even when I was following in his footsteps, we still weren’t close. In the end, he was more my rival than he had ever been my actual father. Everything was a challenge. So yeah, we weren’t close at all.”

The hand catches his and laces their fingers together, so alike and yet so different.

“How could we be-” he mutters lowly, “-when he spent so much time pushing me away, making me feel like I would never be good enough?”

Peter’s fingers continue running through his hair, lulling him down from his last anxiety attack, wiping sweat from his brow.

“It was complicated at best,” Tony says, fresh tears wetting his lashes again, “I wanted more for Peter. His dad was already dead and he’d lost his uncle when I came into the picture. It made my feelings for him even more complicated. I felt so guilty about it. He was only fifteen, after all, when I met him. I had a horrible example to lead by, so that… didn’t help either.”

“I can’t even imagine how hard that was for you,” his other self finally responds, “I know it was a little hard for me at first. You think you’re… corrupting this beautiful flower with your nether essence or whatever. Turns out you’re just pollinating it a little.”

Peter gives him a look.

“Okay, maybe not a good analogy,” he says, smiling, “But you’re over all of that now. Best you can do is move on and grow. Use this as a learning experience.”

“Saying and doing.”

“Right.”

Peter pushes Tony’s bangs from his face, “What’s your next plan of action?”

“Keep going, I suppose,” Tony shrugs, “See if I can fix Fohawk Tony’s love life? Maybe make another Stark happy in the process of my little… soul-searching endeavor. Grow a little more as a person instead of wallowing in misery. It’s better than meandering around the lab and crying into a glass of Karuizawa fifty year old single cask bourbon, I guess.”

“Fohawk Tony?”

“Long story,” he says as he turns his cheek, resting the back of his head in Peter’s lap, “He wears it well, though. We totally pull off that look.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely,” Tony glances at his other self, his hair shaved down even /further/, close to the skull, eyes warm and inviting. It’s all kind of Elton-esque circa 1973 with less balding. It looks pretty good too.

He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t tempting, the look in his other self’s eyes.

It was.

It was /very/ tempting.

He leans in closer, sees the hopeful look come over his Earth 12 counterpart, but shakes his head, “Maybe another time, but I /could/ use a hug.”

The other Tony chuckles and wraps him up in his arms, “You heading out already? You could stay.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Peter pipes in, “You could even stay in a guest bed, if that would be more comfortable. Honest, we won’t push.”

“Sorry, kid, but I think it’s best if I skedaddle before I grow too attached.”

Peter makes a soft whining sound in the back of his throat and Tony blushes.

“Other Earth’s to visit and all that,” he says, willing himself to meet Peter’s eyes at least, the younger man kissing his fingers.

“Well, you’re always welcome back for a little sandwich action, whenever you like,” his double says lowly, “Peter’s a bit of a size queen, he wouldn’t take much convincing.”

“Sitting right here,” Peter says as if to point himself out.

Tony kisses his cheek, “As if you didn’t stand out like a gem amongst the sand.”

“Oh god, he’s as bad as you,” Peter groans, then surprises him by turning and smacking their lips together. It’s supposed to be quick, but Tony stills in shock and kisses him back.

“Not fair, not even remotely fair,” Peter’s husband says, “I want kisses too. I demand them, even.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic series (which is over 44k) and anything I write like it are already posted elsewhere first and foremost. With at least 10+ Starker fics incoming over there, I figured I'd toss something up here for the time being, but updates will be slow as I have many other Starker WIPs and not a lot of real time.
> 
> For full releases at once, visit my Tumblr @Cammerel to find out more (speech bubble in the bottom right).


End file.
